December Survival Guide | 11 Dec 2018

December Survival Guide… TIP 11

Yesterday we focused on sleep disturbances. Today we are going to focus on sleep routine. ?

How can we improve our sleep? The first step is to establish a good sleep routine, so that your body knows when your “sleep time” is.

Going to bed at a similar time each night and getting up every morning at the same time⌚ is one of the best actions we can take. ?️

Having such a rigid sleep routine can often be difficult though, particularly for shift workers. If a set routine is difficult, you could establish a routine that you do during each hour before you get into bed instead, or as well as. ?

If you do the same actions? in the hour before you go to bed every night, your body will get used to the idea that when you begin those actions, it is time to start making physical changes to relax you for the night. A little bit like Pavlov’s Dogs ???? (info below).

First consider ideas that help you to relax, ?and what are feasible to do every night in the hour before you want to go to sleep. Avoid exercise, and any task that involves using your phone or tablet. The light source used is one that supports your brain to think it should be more alert, which is counterproductive. Exercise also produces chemicals in the body that energise your body, and we want your body to recognise its time to relax ?.

Many people enjoy reading ? to relax. Are there any good books you would recommend to others (and me) to read for half an hour or so before going to sleep?